How USWNT inspired Emily Fox in Arsenal’s Champions League triumph - with American defender reflecting on ‘unreal experience’ with the Gunners

Hard-working full-back Fox joined the Gunners in January 2024 as she left her homeland for a WSL adventure. Her debut campaign in England delivered League Cup glory, while her second saw a European crown captured.

The 26-year-old defender has - after Ali Krieger, Gina Lewandowski, Alex Morgan, Catarina Macario and Lindsey Heaps - become the sixth American to win the UEFA Women’s Champions League.

After linking up with Emma Hayes’ squad for international duty, Fox said of her recent experiences at club level - with a trophy parade having taken place at Emirates Stadium: “It was so cool. I think we really had the time to celebrate and connect with each other, connect with the fans, and it definitely makes it more surreal when you have that time.

“I’d use the word surreal and just honored in the sense that I think when you’re in it, it’s hard to appreciate it, because you're always used to just go, go, going, and what’s the next thing. But then again, when you have that time to connect with the fans, and the entire season ... we have the most fans at the games as is. So I just think it's been an unreal experience.”

Fox added on how the USWNT’s battling 1-0 victory over Brazil in the 2024 Olympic final helped her to prepare for a crunch clash with Barcelona on European football’s biggest stage: “I definitely lean on that experience and that grind, and we did talk about before the game, like being able to suffer and being okay with it because of the talent that Barcelona has. You know, being okay with not having the ball, which normally, as a team, we don’t do.”

The United States are readying themselves for a couple of friendly dates. They are set to face China on Saturday, before then playing host to Jamaica on June 3. Fox is looking to add to her collection of 66 international caps.